Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar was in good health after doctors successfully removed a stone from his gallbladder on Tuesday night, ANI reported, quoting Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope.
Pawar had complained of abdominal pain on Sunday, following which he was taken to the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai for a check-up. He was scheduled to undergo a surgery at the hospital on Wednesday due to the problem in his gallbladder. However, the senior leader got admitted a day earlier due to the pain.
On Tuesday, an unidentified family member told PTI that the doctors were about to take a call on operating on him late on Tuesday. Amit Maydeo, a doctor at Breach Candy Hospital, said they had decided to perform the surgery on Pawar before schedule as there had been some complications. “We will be deciding on the removal of his Gallbladder later,” he added. “Currently, he is under observation.”
Later, Tope confirmed that the surgery had been successful. “Sharad Pawar ji is doing well after the operation,” he told reporters. “Stone has been removed from the gallbladder successfully.”
Pawar’s ill-health came amid speculation that he met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday to discuss the corruption allegations against NCP leader and Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. His party has, however, denied the claim.
The Maharashtra government, which is an alliance of the NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena, is battling a political crisis since a vehicle laden with explosives was found near the house of industrialist Mukesh Ambani in Mumbai last month.
Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, who was suspended from his position for his alleged mishandling of the case, has accused Deshmukh of extorting monthly sums of Rs 100 crore from bars and hotels in the city.
In a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Singh said he received this information from Sachin Vaze, a senior Mumbai police officer, who was arrested on March 13 by the National Investigation Agency in connection with the bomb threat case. Singh had also accused the home minister of frequently interfering with police investigations in various cases. The BJP had also demanded the resignation of Deshmukh. However, the NCP has said that there was no need for the minister to resign.
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